Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/56

bring building words and as such be characterized by conciseness; another may be short in duration, the theme being one that does not permit of expansion and as such be characterized by brevity.

bring, carry, fetch: Discriminate carefully between these words. Bring expresses motion toward some person, place, or thing, and implies to bear from a distant place to one nearer; carry expresses motion away from; fetch expresses motion from a given place to another, as for the purpose of obtaining some article, and return to the given place with the article required. Go and fetch is pleonastic.

Britannia: This word is often misspelled "Brittannia." It is from Britain and should be spelled with only one "t" but two "n's."

broach, brooch: Discriminate carefully between these terms. Although both are derived from the same source etymologically (Latin, broca, a spike) they are now widely different in meaning. A broach may mean "a boring into an opening, a spit, or a spire." It is also the name of the boring bits or drills used in carpentering or engineering. It means also "to approach any one in conversation" on some particular subject. A brooch is "a breastpin or an ornamental pin or clasp used as for display or to fasten some part of a dress."

broke: A word often misused for "broken." Do not say "I'm broke" say rather "broken"—To go